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Money from across the country pours into Colorado’s fight over big cat hunting

A late-joining issue committee opposing the measure has received $1.6 million from two donors

A new player has entered the Colorado Election arena in regards to Proposition 127, which aims to ban big cat hunting.
National Park System/Courtesy photo

Late into the campaign season for Colorado’s November 2024 election, a second issue committee has emerged opposing Proposition 127, a measure that seeks to ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx

The committee filed with Colorado’s Secretary of State on Oct. 5 under the name Western Heritage Conservation Alliance. 

It joins two other issue committees fighting over the measure: Cats Aren’t Trophies, a citizen group that petitioned to get Proposition 127 on the ballot, and Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better, which also opposes it.



As of Oct. 28, the Western Heritage Conservation Alliance has amassed $1.6 million in donations from two donors. It has spent $450,000 on advertising. 

It has received two donations totaling $870,937 from Building America’s Future, a national political nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C. An October New York Times article linked the group to Republican donors behind campaign ads attacking presidential candidate Kamala Harris. 

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It also received $75,000 from Safari Club International, a national hunting rights organization with over 50,000 members. Multiple chapters of this group have also donated to Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better campaign against the measure. 

Western Heritage Conservation Alliance has a small digital footprint, with a Google phone number registered on the Secretary of State’s campaign finance site as well as Facebook and YouTube pages under its name. 

The Facebook page was created on Oct. 15 and has been running one 30-second ad since Oct. 17. The page has three followers and no posts as of Monday, Oct. 28. The ad features Dan Prenzlow, the former director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and a home video of a mountain lion. The YouTube page was also created on Oct. 15 and has no videos and 36 subscribers as of Monday. 

Its registered agent and designated filing agent are a Denver-based attorney with the West Group that specializes in government, politics and public policy. 

The committee didn’t return a request for comment as of deadline. 

Fundraising and spending around Proposition 127 has continued to grow as Election Day nears. 

The most recent campaign finance filings show that Cats Aren’t Trophies has pulled in $2.77 million in donations and spent around $2.79 million. Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better has amassed $1.88 million in funding and spent $1.87 million. 

Major donations have poured into both these committees as well. 

Cats Aren’t Trophies’ largest donors have included The Wild Animal Sanctuary based in Weld County, Animal Wellness Action, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization, Big Cat Rescue Corp, a Florida-based organization founded by Carol Baskin, as well as the Mountain Lion Foundation, a California nonprofit. 

Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better’s largest donors have included the Concord Fund, a conservative advocacy and donor organization based in Virginia, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization, Rocky Mountain Elk, a Montana-based nonprofit, as well as Coloradans for Wildlife Management and Safari Club International’s Colorado Chapter. 

Election Day is Nov. 5. 


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